Galaxy Name Generator

Spirals, star-roads and catalogue codes, from the Khestra Spiral to the Weaver's Loom.

Kind of name

Name format

Press Generate Names for 8 galaxy names.

Tap a name to copy it, or the bookmark to keep it.

black shadow = tap it

By Rich · Updated 29 October 2026

Example Galaxy Names

A few names this generator came up with. Tap one to copy it, or press "Generate Names" above for more.

Any kind of name · Name only

Sundqvist 523
LQT 8939
Selvaro Greater
UVQ J2359-5251

Any kind of name · With a description

The Meadow of Distant Bells, whose glow, the astronomers say, is mostly ancient starlight
The Smith's Wheel, where a goddess is said to weep for her lost twin
YXV 6238D, a flocculent spiral seen almost exactly face-on
The Harbour of Borrowed Light, named for the soft blur it makes through a cheap telescope

Sci-fi · With a description

The Dovaris-Qarathis Pair, a galaxy of rogue planets drifting between scattered stars
Ossavane Lesser, whose oldest civilisation went silent ten thousand years ago
The Last Frontier, a dust-choked spiral where navigation is half guesswork
Lumarith Galaxy, whose black hole is ringed by abandoned stations

Mythic · With a description

The Golden Horn, where, in the legends, the sun was born and the moon was raised
The Veil of Yrsa, said to have been spun from moonlight by a patient spider
The Ninefold Loom, where, the legends say, a sky-serpent climbed to heaven
The Owl's Hearthfire, whose brightest star is said to be a lamp left burning for a lost son

Catalogue code · Name only

QVR 3744
Nakashima Catalogue 144
WVK-50
GZT 1685

Poetic · Name only

The River of Quiet Mornings
The Orchard of Slow Rain
The Borrowed Willows
The Unlit Embers

How the Galaxy Name Generator Works

It works from 779 names and name parts, which combine into over 6,300,000 possible results.

The choices:

Kind of name: Any kind of name, Sci-fi, Mythic, Catalogue code, Poetic.
Name format:
- Name only, e.g. The Seraveth-Vaedris Pair
- With a description, e.g. The Draemor Wheel, where the stars are old, red and dimming

Each press gives you 8 names. "Show 8 more" adds 8 you haven't seen yet. Once you've seen them all, "Start again" shuffles the whole list again.

A good galaxy name sounds big enough to hold billions of stars: a coined name like The Cyrenth Wheel, a mythic one like Olloran's Harp, or a catalogue code like VRD J1137+5508. A galaxy holds billions of stars, so its name has to carry some weight. This galaxy name generator makes names for sci-fi settings, fantasy skies and space stories: coined spirals, mythic names from old legends, invented catalogue codes like the ones astronomers use, and quieter poetic names, each with an optional description.

Eight good galaxy names

All eight came from the generator, two from each style:

The Cyrenth Wheel: a coined name with the shape of the galaxy in it.
The Kyrevos-Ithrael Pair: two galaxies locked together, named like a double act.
Olloran's Harp: a mythic name that sounds like an old sky story.
The Distaff of Varuun: a spinning tool in the sky, the way old cultures saw their own stars.
VRD J1137+5508: built like a real survey designation, with its sky position in the number.
Sundqvist Catalogue 144, a dwarf spheroidal behind a thick lane of foreground dust: a code and a description that sound like an astronomer's notes.
The Bridge of Lost Buttons: a poetic name for a galaxy seen from a small, sad planet.
Willowlight: short, soft and easy to say.

How astronomers name galaxies

Our own galaxy is the Milky Way, and the word galaxy comes from the same idea: the Greek galaxias means "milky". Beyond that, very few galaxies have names at all.

Catalogue numbers do most of the work. In the 18th century Charles Messier listed fuzzy objects that astronomers might mistake for comets, so the Andromeda Galaxy is also M31. The New General Catalogue, or NGC, added thousands more.
Survey designations often include the object's position in the sky, which is why real codes look like a string of numbers with a plus or minus sign in the middle.
The few with names are named after constellations (Andromeda) or people: the Magellanic Clouds are named after Ferdinand Magellan, whose expedition described them.

The generator covers all of that and more. Sci-fi gives coined names with a shape word: Wheel, Disc, Drift, Cloud. Mythic names a galaxy after a legend, like The Wanderer's Chariot. Catalogue makes invented codes and survey numbers, and Poetic gives quiet names like The Shore of Kept Promises. Choose With a description for a line of story, like The Fractured Arm, a small galaxy being slowly swallowed by its larger neighbour.

Galaxies in your setting

Most stories need only one or two. Name your home galaxy and the one next door, and leave the rest as catalogue numbers.
Different people, different names. Scientists might use the code while the locals use a legend. That gap is a nice detail.
Distances are huge. Andromeda, our nearest large neighbour, is about 2.5 million light years away. Crossing between galaxies should feel like a very big deal.

Fill the galaxy with the Star, Planet and Moon name generators, then name the ships and people with the Spaceship and Alien name generators.

For more, see all the sci-fi name generators.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are good galaxy names for a sci-fi story?

A coined name with a shape word, like The Cyrenth Wheel or The Ambrevel Drift, or a catalogue code like VRD J1137+5508 for something more scientific. Choose Mythic or Poetic for a softer, older feel.

How do real galaxies get their names?

Mostly with catalogue numbers, like M31 for the Andromeda Galaxy. Only a few have names, usually from a constellation or a person, like the Magellanic Clouds.

Are any of these real galaxies?

No. The names and catalogue codes are invented, though the codes are built to look like real survey designations.